Disability
The study and practice of the unspeakable arts of Daemonology and Necromancy soon take their toll on the magician's mind and body. Likewise, Evil and Chaotic magicians following other magical careers also suffer physical and mental degeneration. This is reflected by the acquisition of one or more Penalties at each level. Every time Daemonologists advance a level, they gain 1D6 Insanity Points, plus one of the Disabilities listed below. Necromancers also gain a Disability at each level and have a steadily increasing chance of contracting Tomb Rot. Evil or Chaotic magicians are slightly more fortunate, in that they only develop one Disability at each level. Other penalties, gained by summoning Daemons or using daemonic power-summoning spells, for example, are described in the introduction to the relevant careers. Some of these Disabilities are progressive, in that they get steadily worse over time. The effects of such Disabilities are therefore described in three stages. The character will suffer the effects of the first stage of the disability immediately as it has been acquired. The effects of the more advanced stages are cumulative and set in after 2D6 months or as soon as the character next changes career or career level (whichever is sooner). Thus, even if the character changes to a less obnoxious career, the disability will continue to get worse. Every time a character's advance scheme calls for the acquisition of a disability (or, in the case of Daemonologists and Evil or Chaotic Wizards, whenever the character rises a level), the GM should roll D100 and consult the appropriate column of the table below. Description of Disabilities Allergy The character develops an increasingly painful discomfort when in physical contact with or close proximity to various materials. The gamesmaster is free to decide on any common substance or may select one of the following: leather, cloth, fur, water, plants. *''Stage 1:'' When in physical contact with the material, the character suffers from itchy, streaming eyes and may have fits of violent sneezing (WS -5, I''' -5, '''Dex -5, Ld -5, Cl -5, WP -5). *''Stage 2:'' When within 5 feet of the substance, the character develops an itchy rash on exposed skin (WS -10, I''' -10, '''Dex -10, Ld -10, Cl -10, WP -10 - these are not cumulative with the effects of Stage 1). *''Stage 3:'' When within 10 feet of the substance, the character develops a painful rash all over the body and suffers from feelings of nausea (WS -10, BS -5, S''' -1, '''T -1, I''' -10, '''Dex -10, Ld -10, Cl -10, WP -10, Fel -5). Animal Aversion Animals and children become very sensitive to the character's evil persona. *''Stage 1:'' Domestic animals and small children will avoid the character if at all possible. *''Stage 2:'' All animals and young children will display signs of fear and loathing of the character (crying, howling, etc.). *''Stage 3:'' Animals will attack the character on sight. Cadaverous Appearance As time passes, the character grows to look more and more corpse-like. *''Stage 1:'' The character's skin becomes deathly pale, with dark rings around the eyes (Fel -5). *''Stage 2:'' The character's skin becomes drawn and almost translucent; and the eyes sink deeper into their sockets, while developing red rims (Fel -10 - not cumulative). *''Stage 3:'' The character's hair falls out, the skin takes on a bluish tinge, and the disfigurement generally reaches a stage where the character cannot be distinguished from a corpse (Fel -20 - not cumulative). Disfigurement Some part of the character's body develops a hideous appearance. Although such disfigurements are often disguisable, they soon reach a state where the disguise is almost as ugly as the deformity itself. The part of the body affected may be a limb (e.g., a claw instead of a hand, cloven feet, fur-covered legs, etc.), the body (e.g., a hunched back, scaly skin, etc.). Gamesmasters should be prepared to use their imagination here, especially if the character already has a Cadaverous Appearance... Insanity The character immediately gains 1D6 Insanity Points. Nocturnal Lifestyle The character gradually develops an intolerance of daylight and must hide from the sun. *''Stage 1:'' Bright daylight causes great pain to the character's eyes; prolonged exposure (D4 hours) will blind such characters until they rest in darkness for D4 hours. *''Stage 2:'' The character can no longer bear to go out in any daylight stronger than the twilight of dawn or dusk. Failure to observe this restriction results in a 25% reduction to all characteristics. *''Stage 3:'' The character can only go out during the hours of darkness; exposure to daylight of any intensity reduces all characteristics by 50% until the character has had D4 hours rest in complete darkness. Palsy The character becomes prone to periodic shaking fits, although certain preparations can be taken to offset these effects. Whenever such characters are in a potentially stressful situation (e.g., combat), they must make a test against half their WP or a fit will ensue. Fits last for D6 x 10 rounds. *''Stage 1:'' The fit affects the characters hands and arms, making spellcasting impossible and requiring a successful Dex test to avoid dropping anything carried. *''Stage 2:'' The fit spreads to the character's head and body. *''Stage 3:'' The character is completely incapacitated by the fit and may neither move nor talk for the duration. Strength Loss The character is weakened by indulging in the unnatural and loses 1 point from S''', permanently. Toughness Loss The character suffers the permanent loss of 1 point of '''T. Unpleasant Odour The character begins to exude a foul smell, like rotting fish, for example, or decaying bodies, or stagnant water. Unless masked by some other perfume, the stench can be noticed at up to 10 feet. *''Stage 1:'' The smell may be masked by the application of perfume once per day. *''Stage 2:'' Perfume must be applied every hour to defeat the stench. *''Stage 3:'' Unless the character is doused in perfume every 10 turns (minutes) the smell is so persistent as to penetrate even the heaviest of scents. Transformation Over a period of time, the character begins to resemble some other creature - becoming lizard-like or frog-like, for example. This will happen in stages, but it is up to the gamesmaster to determine the actual development, according to the creature chosen. Wound Loss The character suffers the permanent loss of 1 W''' point. Any points lost from characteristics as a result of gaining a Disability (e.g., '''T, S''', or '''W) cannot be restored, although they may still be increased as a result of an advance. However, the character may not repeat an advance simply because a characteristic has been reduced to a lower level. Thus, a Daemonologist who starts his career with T''' 4, takes a +1 advance to give him '''T 5. On summoning a minor daemon, his T''' is reduced by 1 to '''T 4. The only way for the character to achieve T''' 5 again is by entering a career with an advance scheme which allows '''T +2; the +1 advance is deemed to have been taken, even though the character subsequently lost the benefits. Preparations The affects of Palsy and reduced characteristics may be offset by the ingestion of certain, special medicinal preparations. These have no effect if taken before the onset of a Disability, but when one of the above Disabilities has been acquired, they may be taken to prevent deterioration and/or the affects of further reductions to characteristics. Characters do not need to use these preparations before any characteristic is reduced to 1. At this point, failure to use the relevant preparation will result in the character falling into a coma and subsequently dying. GMs should make these preparations extremely difficult to manufacture or obtain - requiring, for example, the use of one or more of the following skills: Herb Lore, Manufacture Drugs, Prepare Poisons, and Chemistry. GMs may set their own specific requirements, as they see fit, using the preparations given below as examples. Characters who take one or more of these preparations become dependent on them after taking D4+1 doses. Characters addicted in this way suffer withdrawal if they do not get their regular dose, which means that all characteristics are reduced by 50%, D4 days after the last dose. The period of withdrawal lasts for D4+2 days and characters who do not take a dose of the preparation within this time will fall into a coma, as well as suffering all characteristic losses which the preparation had alleviated. Comatose characters will die D3+1 weeks, but can be revived within this period by being force fed the required preparation. They will, however, be drowsy for D8+4 hours. Restore Strength: This preparation is made from the muscles and sinews of any character or creature with a S''' of 6 or better. The required skill for its manufacture are Chemistry and Manufacture Drugs. It takes half-an-hour to manufacture one dose, which must be consumed daily to offset the effects of any '''S loss. One man-sized creature will provide sufficient ingredients for D10+10 doses. Restore Toughness: This preparation is concocted from the blood, heart, and lungs of any character or creature with a T''' of 6 or better. The required skills for the manufacture of this preparation are Chemistry and Manufacture Drugs. One dose must be taken at dawn each day. One man-sized creature provides enough ingredients for 8 doses, which may be prepared in one go, taking D4 hours. '''Restore Wounds: This preparation is created from a carefully balanced mixture of Manbane and Dragon blood. One pint of Dragon blood and one dose of 'manbane' will make 4 doses. This process takes 1 hour (or 15 minutes per dose) and requires Prepare Poisons and Manufacture Drugs skills. One dose must be consumed every 2 days. Alleviate Palsy: This preparation is made from the venom of a Giant Spider. One spider will provide enough venom for 2D10+6 doses. The required skill for the manufacture of this preparation are Prepare Poisons and Chemistry. One dose must be consumed twice each day. Category:Rules Category:Magic